Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Monday constituted a special police unit – Special Tactical Unit (STU) in order to deal effectively with terrorism in the state's urban areas, the police said on Tuesday. The STU has currently 30 Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel.

The SOG personnel were trained for about three months at the National Security Guard (NSG) camp in Manesar, Haryana. "This unit is a part of the Special Operations Group (SOG). We plan to gradually raise the strength of this unit to about 100," Odisha Director General of Police Prakash Mishra said.

The SOG, which has 3,000 personnel, was set up in Odisha in 2004. It is primarily being used to counter left wing extremism. "There was a need for creating a dedicated force to counter attacks like serial blasts in Bodh Gaya in Bihar and 26/11 Mumbai mayhem," Mishra said.

The STU unit conducted its first mock drill at the battalion ground of the state's armed police force in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Odisha is now the third state in India after Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to have a dedicated force to counter terrorism in urban areas.